songerein | { halloween }

Entry tags:

{ halloween }

HALLOWEEN

Another Halloween has arrived in Reverein, and the Nightmare Troupe returns from their mysterious origins to help transform the carnival grounds to fit the season. They've added a new feature attraction: The Labyrinth, where everyone just runs around to fight spooky baddies for candy, prizes, and flex one's combat abilities in dreamotion. It's all in good fun, of course!

More details on everything can be found here. As a reminder, events double as our TDMs and information can be found here. Any outside characters participating in the log are canonly logged as appearing in Songerein in October and will remain in Songerein from the IC date of October 25th, just before the event ICly begins. TDM only characters can only thread within this log. Anyone who apps in and is accepted will have their character count October as their first time in the game without any disruption, so all content will carry over. Those who do not apply will disappear which should not seem too unusual, however players in game can choose to retcon and pretend a character was never there to begin with if it would be easier; or even think their presence was just a dream.

IMPORTANT! All outside characters MUST have "TDM" in their subject line, even if you might not app. This will help people differentiate those who are already in the game and those who are not.

TDM threads are required for samples. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any questions here. Reserves will open October 25th and Applications will open on November 1st. Our application cycles are bi-monthly so the next cycle after won't be until January.

TDM Toplevel Link Directory (click to view)

Bokurano - Jun Ushiro
Cookie Run Kingdom - Black Raisin Cookie
Dead by Daylight - Zarina Kassir
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - Edgin Darvis
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - Xenk Yendar
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - Genesis Rhapsodos
Final Fantasy XIV - Emet-Selch
Final Fantasy XIV - Hermes
Final Fantasy XV - Somnus Lucis Caelum
Full Metal Alchemist - Alphonse Elric
Genshin Impact - Ei
Genshin Impact - Nahida
Great Ace Attorney, The - Iris Wilson
Hey Arnold! - Helga G. Pataki
Hi-Fi Rush - Chai
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Zelda
Noragami - Yato
Original - Astralin Turnont
Touhou - Maribel Hearn

We will request any thread submissions for certain prompts during AC and TDM threads will count. For more information, refer to the Game Notes.

I. CARNIVAL

II. LABYRINTH

COMMENTS

I. CARNIVAL

While the carnival grounds still have the standard fare of attractions themed up for Halloween, there are a few new ones popping up thanks to the Nightmare Troupe. Some are similar to what appeared last year, but with a different look to them. Some, perhaps, more terrifying than before.

A. Personalized Costumes. All throughout Reverein boutiques and tailors are in full swing to create costumes for those who wish to wear, either by renting or buying. However, for those who are a bit adverse, the fairy godmothers are out and about ready to employ their fashion magic to grant anyone and everyone a special Halloween costume, just for them! There might be the slight side effect that the wearer may behave like the costume itself, but it's just a temporary phase.

B. Vampring Frights. The vamprings are still out and about, nibbling on nightmares. But now they are also appearing outside of dreams, deciding that a bit of fear could make as good of a snack or meal as any other. Only the ones that are truly hungry will appear, so a little purple blob will bounce and latch onto any part of their target's body they can reach (though they particularly like the top of the head). Those who are bitten in this manner won't try to bite others, fortunately. Instead, they will become something like a "Vampring minion" and try to invoke fear and scare others. (For more information and use the original version of the Vampring, read here.)

C. Monster Swaps. Small monsters will roam the carnival grounds and will swap bodies with random people to go around pulling pranks and tricks in the person's body. The person is now trapped in the monster's body, but has access to the monster's trickster, spooky abilities as well (ie, players can make this up). To return to normal, they must find their original body and bite it. Otherwise, they will have to wait for the monster to get bored and return to switch them back.

D. Carnival Fare. Here are a few of the general games and attractions available for carnival goers to enjoy.

🔫 Zombie Shooter. Ride through a rickety car through a building and shoot the "zombies" that pop up with bright green paintball guns. While most are cardboard, there are a few volunteers that dress for the occasion. Don't mind their pain as they get hit, they're fine.
👻 Spooky Stories. Instead of a fire, there is a boiling cauldron set up where people can gather around and try to conjure up their spookiest story. The steam over the cauldron will change and twist to try and illustrate the story as it goes, and should it proof particularly scary, a manifestation of the terror will crawl out of it to terrorize everyone for a little bit before disappearing.
🍏 Poisoned Apples. Special caramel covered green apples are handed out throughout the carnival. One bite will inflict one or more of the following effects: floating, dizzy, sugar rush, creepy, frightful. (Players are free to be creative and come up with additional effects!)
🧹 Broom Carousel. The horses have been replaced with different styles of witch brooms, letting everyone have a safe experience of flying on a broom. Until the brooms suddenly fly out of the carousel and into the carnival. Hang on or stop that broom!
🎃 Pumpkin Carving Challenge. Pumpkins can be found all over the grounds, and there is a challenge to carve them with dreamotion and light a special candle in them. Doing so will bring the pumpkin to life and behave like whatever expression or drawing carved on them. Whether they behave nicely is a different matter. Blowing out the candle will stop the pumpkin.

E. House of Mirrors. The House of Mirrors will have new mirrors installed that have new special effects…many making everyone inside feel not quite themselves.

🎭 Jekyll and Hyde. A black framed mirror where the opposite version of the viewer appears to taunt them.
💅 Narcissism. A gold framed mirror where one will see the best version of themselves and will stand stuck in front of it admiring themselves. They will need to be forcibly dragged away…else they may get stuck on the mirror.
🛌 Dream or Nightmare? A silver framed mirror that will reflect either a good dream or a nightmare that's on the viewer's mind. It will be a strong image, so strong that the viewer may be tempted to dreamwalk into the mirror, either to be a part of it or to destroy it. Some help may be required to help them either accomplish their goal or pull them out.
🪞 Mirror Version. Sometimes, a "mirror version" of the viewer may reach out to switch places, trapping the original inside the mirror while the mirror version goes out to cause some chaos. The trapped person can only traverse through mirrors, and can only be freed if the mirrored version is shoved back into any mirror. One way to tell a mirror version apart is that they will randomly reflect things off their body.

F. Haunted Ryokan. A haunted Japanese styled inn is the theme for this year's "haunted house." On the outside, it looks invitingly eerie, with life-sized traditional Japanese dolls as their hosts and guides. They hope their new patrons will enjoy their stay…forever.

🏮 Peony Lantern. At first a beautiful woman will appear holding a lantern and take a person's hand to lead them through the narrow halls lit by floating lanterns. But whenever they pass under a lantern, the woman's form changes into a skeleton. Once they are noticed, they will screech and chase them through the hallways and rooms to the next location, but if left alone it will quietly lead them without issue.
🛁 Bathhouse. Somehow they get to the bathing area where the steam rises thick around them. Without warning a ghostly figure of a long-haired drowned woman will crawl out and chase with a bloody knife. Fish spirits will also fly out to impede them, but they could be used to smack the woman instead. Should someone slip in the water, they'll feel hands grab at them, trying to pull them under…
🪦 Graveyard. Past the courtyard is a graveyard where all manner of Japanese inspired ghosts and demons roam. A special paper talisman is available, and once powered with positive dreamotion it will create a shikigami that will help ward off and defend against the ghosts. But it must have constant dreamotion poured into it, so should it ever go out, the ghosts and demons will suddenly rush into chase.
🐕 Shiba Statues. Should anyone be having a truly terrible time, special little shiba inu statues will trot in to dispel the "evils" and give the visitor some much needed comfort and respite. They will even guide them to the exit if needed. Those who manage to pass through on their own will also meet the shiba inu statues and have a chance to play with them as if in congratulations.

II. LABYRINTH

A big structure now occupies the area just beyond the Fairgrounds. Towering stone walls hide complex pathways inside, and it turns out its express purpose is not to get people lost, but for a little bit of exploration. There is no entrance/exit, just a special circular teleportation pad that will take them inside and there is no end goal. It's not difficult to get out once inside, but the winding paths encourage visitors to check behind corners for treats because there's a lot of treats AND tricks!

A. Halloween Creatures. The labyrinth is populated with silly creatures held together by ~~craft glue and duct tape~~ both dreamotion and nightmare. These creatures will attack on sight, but subdue them and reap the rewards: candy and silly toys! It's all for fun, after all.

🦴 Skeletons. Their bones are made of rubber and most physical attacks will bounce off them. Have to get in close to blast with dreamotion!
🕷 Glow-In-The-Dark Plastic Spiders. Will shoot sticky licorice webbing that will trip up and trap any caught in it. Have to eat through it to get out, and the flavor could either be red or black.
🔺 Candy Corn Golems. Chuck giant pieces of candy corn that are delicious, but hurt! Golems will melt under intense heat.

B. Mysterious Doors. Sometimes, you may find a door at one of the dead ends. Knock, and most of the time a kindly old lady (where did she come from? Don't worry about it–) will present you with special trick-or-treat bags. The other times, a swarm of genuinely sinister nightmare creatures will come pouring out. Oops! Try again next time! Here are some of the items the old lady will give and their effects (they can be taken home after the event):

🧙 Witch's Hat. The hat will automatically fly on top of the person's head and will allow them to cast silly hexes of misfortune on their targets.
🧹 Witch's Broom. Can fly at fast speeds for a few minutes at a time. Only goes up to three feet in the air.
🤓 Plastic Fangs. These fangs will fit themselves in the person's mouth and will allow them to bite any candy corn golem or sticky spider licorice webbing with ease. And normal foods, too.
🕸 Spray Can of Licorice Webbing. Releases a spray of licorice webbing similar to the ones used by the plastic spiders.
🧻 Roll of Toilet Paper. Exactly as it says.
🍫 Nougat Center. A delicious treat that will temporarily boost one's ~~stats~~ dreamotion abilities.

C. Beware of Steve. If you're very unlucky, you may hear an ominous clatter in the distance... The low rumble of a revving chainsaw... Those who spend lots of time in the labyrinth will know soon enough–those are noises that mean you need to run. Because STEVE, THE 20-FOOT-TALL CHAINSAW-WIELDING SKELETON, takes no hostages, and he's out for blood!!! He will continue chasing people until fought, and anything goes with this foe. While dreamotion attacks will work, using the items given by the old lady in the doors will inflict greater damage. Anyone who is "killed" by Steve will be knocked out of the Labyrinth unharmed.

D. Grand High Viscount of Candy Corn. On the other end of giant "horrors" is a giant golem made of candy corn with a large top hat that may appear out of one of the doors. Its main attack, besides trying to punch and pummel, is spewing sticky candy goop that will trap anyone caught in it. It'll wear off, but until then, any caught in it will at first feel very energetic and attack more quickly before becoming sluggish and unable to do much, as if they suffered an extreme sugar crash.

I. CARNIVAL

II. LABYRINTH

COMMENTS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I. A. Costumes

Iroh hadn't been too sure about the idea of costumes, but masks were not unknown to him. Here, or at home. And the last time he had worn a mask he had reunited with his nephew. So he gratefully accepted the dragon mask that had been offered him. He had then been talked into the red and gold outfit that went with it.

He could be found soon after, examining the costume in the mirror to be sure of the fit.

I. D. Spooky Stories
When it was Iroh's turn, he took a deep breath. "What I am about to tell you all is one of the most horrible things I have ever experienced. If you do not wish to hear something so terrible, so terrifying... now is the time to leave..." he warned.

Once he was sure that anyone who wanted to leave had done so, he began. "It started when my nephew and I had arrived as refugees from the war my family started a hundred years ago..." he began.

It was impossible to tell, from his dramatic start, that the story would end with "hot leaf juice" but he was making his way towards that very seriously.

I. D. Pumpkin Carving Challenge
Iroh had already finished his carving, and a small well carved dragon with a candle at its core was flying lazily around the table. Iroh, now that he was done, was gathering the excess innards. Any from his own project, but also any that no one else wanted. He was carefully sorting rind from inner flesh from seeds, storing each in its own set of containers.

II. A. Halloween Creatures

This should have been easy for Iroh, really. But a number of things were holding him back. One was that he didn't actually want to damage the maze, which mean his Fire Bending was being used in a very limited way, if at all. But also this was not an actual danger, there was no reason to fight for real. And given Azula's presence... every reason to hold back his current strength. To play up being an old man past his prime.

So he was taking his time working through the monsters. What little Bending he did used only very basic forms and was only used to melt the candy corn golems.

Edited 2023-10-17 11:31 (UTC)

Anya seems to be very intrigued despite Pooka and Mashka clinging onto her for dear life as they begin to listen to this old man telling about a story about him and his nephew. Now they could have just leave and the dog and rabbit would have calmed down by now but Anya didn’t budge out of her seat, still willing to listen to Iroh’s story.

“Oh gee, Sir. This is going to be a really big story, doesn’t it? Go on. I’m here to listen.”

"The city was Ba Sing Se, the capitol of the Earth Kingdom. A city with much history for me, though that is another story. But this time I came not as general but as refugee. I had found jobs for my nephew and myself, so that we could live with the other refugees and start over."

He stroked his beard, leaning forward as he continued. "We had had enough danger by that point, I chose a safe place for us to work. Or it should have been a safe place. How was I to know the horrors that simple tea shop held in store for me..." he paused dramatically to watch his audience.

Ba Sing Se? That sounds like a very important capital city like Saint Petersburg or Paris back in her world. She has a fondness for the former as it was her hometown but that is also another tale for another time. Although by the time she had left for Paris the Russia she once knew has been practically dead like her own family.

“Ah so you and your nephew were hoping to start life anew in Ba Sing Se and hope that your business will thrive happily. That sounds very lovely to start on a new life or journey in a new place away from the troubles of one’s homeland. Although I never thought that tea shops can have their own set of problems.”

"I never would have thought so either. And yet, there we were. Our first day on the job. The owner said he was pouring us tea, then went into the back to see if he had an apron that would fit me..."

He shook his head, looking haunted, pausing dramatically.

"So there we were, left alone in the empty front of the tea shop that I thought was going to be our home in Ba Sing Se... Our new start. I reached for the cup... took a sip...."

Dramatic pause as he leaned forward.

"And it was... nothing but HOT LEAF JUICE!" he intoned dramatically. He wasn't kidding, or didn't seem to be. This seemed to actually be a horror.

"But as bad as that was... the worst was yet to come!"

WHAT?!? How could anyone screw up brewing tea this badly? Back in Russia, her family and several wealthy and noble families would use the two step process of brewing tea (zavarka being brewed in a small tea pot and mixing with hot water to adjust to one’s taste) and there is always a samovar lying around too. Tea may not be as commonly drank in Russia as, let’s say, beer or vodka but there is still a noticeable culture around it though.

Often times lemons, sugar, honey, syrups, and jams often accompany it and the tea cakes, pastries, candies and other sweets are offered to anyone. And Anya probably lost count of way too many sugar cubes sacrificed whenever Alexandra and some friends of hers had tea.

But somehow Iroh’s horrible experience in that tea house managed to shock her greatly. Enough to make her face palm at whoever gave him the hot leaf juice.

“Whoa! Somebody managed to mess up with the tea brewing process? How could anyone do something like that? Mama would have been just as shocked if she was given that hot leaf juice, living some of her life in England and all.”

He didn't know where England was, but... "Exactly! And in a tea shop no less! And to make matters worse? My nephew, my own nephew! He said that was what all tea was. I do not think I have ever recovered from that wound, to this day," he proclaimed, hands to his chest dramatically.

For all the things Zuko apologized for when they arrived here, all the things he thought his Uncle would be angry at him for, all the ways he was sure he had hurt Iroh... and not one apology for calling tea hot leaf juice...

Iroh | ATLA | OTA

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Costumes

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Spooky Stories

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